LOG LINE
The
story
of
a
man
who
takes
his
skin
off
for
his
girlfriend,
and
why
it
probably
wasn't
the
best
idea...
SYNOPSIS
In
this
twisted
modern-­‐day
fairy
tale,
a
man
removes
his
own
skin
for
the
woman
he
loves,
believing
it’s
what
she
wants
him
to
do.
And
she
does…
at
first.
But
his
action
soon
proves
to
have
dire
consequences.
Small
things,
things
like
stains.
Things
they
can
handle.
But
before
long
it
becomes
clear
their
relationship
will
never
be
the
same
again…

ORIGINS

‘He
Took
His
Skin
Off
For
Me’
is
an
adaptation
of
the
original
flash-­‐fiction
story
by
award-­‐winning
writer
Maria
Hummer.
Its
vision
of
the
skinless
man
as
a
twisted
piece
of
domestic
magical-­‐realism
is
powerful,
evocative
and
beautiful.
Think
Margaret
Atwood
meets
David
Cronenberg.

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
This
production
has
been
a
labor
of
love,
the
result
of
over
fifteen
months
dedication.
The
first
time
I
read
Maria’s
remarkable
story
I
knew
there
was
no
turning
back.
It’s
the
kind
of
idea
that
grabs
you
by
the
back
of
the
neck
and
doesn’t
let
go.
Her
unique
female
voice
demands
your
attention
yet
defies
your
expectation.
I
knew
I
had
to
make
it
into
a
film,
I
just
didn’t
know
quite
how
yet.
In
the
end
we
had
to
build
our
own
SFX
department
from
the
ground-­‐up
to
bring
the
story
to
life.
We
were
a
truly
independent
production,
raising
the
majority
of
our
financing
via
Kickstarter
after
most
deemed
it
too
risky
or
too
ambitious
to
pull
off.
The
makeup
achievements
are
the
result
of
thousands
of
hours
of
exceptional
craftsmanship
and
achieved
entirely
without
CGI.
It
is,
bizarrely,
also
a
student
production,
being
my
own
graduation
film
from
the
London
Film
School.
But
at
its
heart
it
is
a
simple,
tragic
love
story,
grounded
by
the
nuanced,
powerful
performances
of
Anna
Maguire
and
Sebastian
Armesto.
The
film
demands
you
make
sense
of
it;
in
constructing
an
interpretation
you
necessarily
draw
on
your
own
life
experience
and,
in
a
way,
become
a
part
of
the
story.
The
power
of
the
allegory
is
how
multifaceted
it
is.
Every
audience
member
has
their
own
take;
sympathies
and
meanings
seem
to
go
in
almost
all
directions.
I
don’t
want
to
tell
people
what
the
film
should
be.
Even
finding
a
genre
to
describe
it
is
difficult.
I
want
people
to
come
to
this
film
just
like
I
came
to
the
original
story,
completely
unprepared.
If
I
can
leave
with
one
pearl
of
wisdom,
though;
if
you
take
off
your
skin
just
to
be
with
somebody?
That’s
only
ever
going
to
end
messy…

A PRACTICAL SFX FAIRYTALE
From
the
beginning
we
knew
this
film
had
to
shot
practically.
The
story
required
a
tactile,
real
world
quality
that
only
physical
makeup
provides.
The
film
is
100%
in-­‐camera;
there
is
no
CGI
whatsoever.
Bringing
this
story
to
life
was
a
monumental
challenge.
We
began
by
reaching
out
to
Colin
Arthur
(NeverEnding
Story,
2001:
A
Space
Odyssey)
and
with
his
help
and
guidance
built
our
own
independent
team
of
sculptors,
makeup
artists
and
SFX
newbies
to
make
a
man
appear
to
have
no
skin.
Jen
Cardno
took
time
away
from
the
Royal
College
of
Art
to
run
the
team
as
SFX
Supervisor.
Given
the
resources
available
the
quality
and
realism
of
her
designs
is
unprecedented.
The
team
spent
over
8
weeks
creating
hundreds
of
individual
muscle
pieces
specifically
crafted
for
Sebastian’s
body.
Thousands
of
hours
went
into
its
creation.
We
have
always
said
we
needed
to
believe
in
the
effect
for
the
film
to
have
any
effect,
and
that
gamble
more
than
paid
off.

Above: Early test work on a skinless arm

Below: Face pieces dry in the sun

Above: Sebastian bust map

Left: Sebastian has a
moment with himself…

Right: Colin Arthur
(NeverEnding Story)
helps chisel the face
bust

Left: the body map
comes to life

CAST

SEBASTIAN ARMESTO as HIM
Sebastian
is
an
English
film,
television
and
theatre
actor
known
for
Pirates
of
the
Caribbean:
On
Stranger
Tides
(2011),
Marie
Antoinette
(2006)
and
for
playing
the
poet
and
playwright
Ben
Jonson
in
Roland
Emmerich’s
Anonymous
(2011).
Armesto
has
acted
in
high-­‐profile
theatre
productions
in
Britain,
including
three
shows
at
the
National
Theatre
and
one
at
the
Royal
Court.
He
is
currently
starring
as
Edgar
opposite
Frank
Langella
in
King
Lear.
He
also
writes
and
directs
theatre
with
company
Simple
8.
Most
recently,
he
co-­‐wrote
and
directed
a
play
based
on
William
Hogarth's
The
Four
Stages
of
Cruelty
and
new
versions
of
The
Cabinet
of
Dr.
Caligari
and
Moby-­‐Dick.

ANNA MACGUIRE as HER
Anna
Maguire
started
her
career
in
Steven
Spielberg’s
Saving
Private
Ryan.
This
basically
meant
that
she
was
hooked
and
would
never
be
free
of
the
world
of
film.
She
continued
to
act
as
a
child
and
teenager
in
her
school
holidays,
appearing
in
various
film,
TV
and
theatre
roles,
including
work
for
20th
Century
Fox,
Hallmark,
the
BBC
and
the
Almeida
Theatre
in
London.
After
taking
a
sabbatical
to
study
English
Literature
at
Cambridge
University
she
has
returned
to
acting,
appearing
in
The
Hour
(BBC)
and
Parade’s
End
(HBO)
as
well
as
performing
in
various
stage
roles.
She
has
also
started
making
her
own
films,
the
first
of
which,
Don’t
forget
your
mittens,
premiered
at
The
London
Short
Film
Festival
in
2014.

CREW
BEN ASTON – Director

Ben
is
a
27-­‐year-­‐old
London
born
filmmaker,
raised
in
Singapore,
Hong
Kong,
Shanghai,
Australia
and
Bath.
After
graduating
with
a
BA
in
Philosophy
from
Kings
College
London,
he
moved
on
to
the
London
Film
School;
this
will
be
his
graduation
film.
His
last
film
‘Dinner
and
a
Movie’
was
officially
selected
for
the
Palm
Springs
Shortfest
2013,
the
London
Short
Film
Festival
2013
and
the
Edinburgh
Film
Festival
2013
which
named
him
a
'British
director
of
tomorrow'.

FIONA LAMPTEY - Producer
Fiona
is
a
skilled
Production
Finance
Manager
with
8
solid
years
of
experience.
She
joined
Channel
4
in
2004
and
currently
works
for
their
feature
film
division,
Film4.
Her
credits
include
films
like
'Attack
the
Block',
'Four
Lions'
and
'Submarine'.
Fiona
has
produced
two
short
films:
'The
Prayer'
by
Shola
Amoo
and
Nosa
Nedion
and
'Close'
by
Geoffrey
Taylor.

MARIA HUMMER - Writer
Maria
Hummer
was
born
and
raised
in
Toledo,
OH,
has
lived
in
Seoul,
Korea
and
currently
resides
in
London.
She
has
a
BFA
in
Creative
Writing
and
an
MA
in
Screenwriting.
She
is
a
jack
of
all
trades,
having
worked
as
a
professional
taste
tester,
youth
hostel
manager,
development
editor
and
British-­‐American
translator
(yes,
that's
a
thing
apparently).
This
is
her
second
collaboration
with
Ben
Aston
after
‘Dinner
and
a
Movie’.
In
addition
to
working
on
short
and
feature
film
projects
she
has
a
flourishing
fiction
career,
with
five
short
stories
accepted
for
publication
this
quarter
alone.
She
is
currently
working
on
her
first
novel.

JEN CARDNO – SFX Supervisor
Jen
spent
her
formative
years
scrabbling
around
in
the
dirt
collecting
insects,
and
not
an
awful
lot
has
changed.
After
finishing
her
two-­‐year
Fine
Art
National
Diploma
with
a
Triple
Award
Distinction,
she
went
on
to
study
illustration
at
the
UWE.
Experimenting
with
modelmaking
and
animation
at
the
end
of
the
third
year,
she
graduated
suddenly
in
2008,
and
went
straight
into
work
at
Bolex
Brothers
Studios.
After
freelancing
at
SFX
and
prop
houses
for
a
few
years,
she
decided
she
wanted
a
master's
degree,
and
is
currently
half
way
through
an
MA
in
animation
at
the
Royal
College
of
Art,
London.

YIANNIS MANOLOPOULOS – Cinematographer

Yiannis
studied
Philosophy,
Economics
and
Project
Management
before
realising
he
had
to
make
films
instead.
He
hasn't
stopped
doing
so
since
and
does
not
intend
to.
Yiannis
studied
at
the
London
Film
School,
specialising
in
cinematography.
Since
then
he
has
been
involved
in
numerous
student
and
professional
productions
with
his
newly
founded
company
Filmstead,
in
the
effort
to
grow
as
a
cinematographer
and
do
what
he
does
best,
sharing
stories
through
the
creation
of
cinematic
images.

Reza Jouze – Editor

Reza
was
a
stage
actor
and
director
in
Iran,
before
settling
in
the
UK.
He
has
acted
in
more
than
20
stage
plays
and
has
directed
5.
He
has
twice
won
the
best
Theatre
Actor
of
the
year
award
in
Iran.
After
moving
to
London
he
entered
The
London
Film
School
and
in
2013
graduated
with
MA
filmmaking.
He
has
edited
more
than
10
short
fiction
films
and
several
documentaries.
Reza
is
now
working
as
a
freelance
Editor.

KATIE MACGREGOR – Production Designer
Katie
Macgregor
is
a
London
based
Art
Director.
Originally
from
Sydney
Australia,
she
moved
to
London
to
study
Foundation
Art
&
Design
at
Chelsea
University,
and
continuing
her
degree
in
Fine
Arts
at
UCA
in
Farnham.
Katie
has
worked
as
an
Art
Director
in
London
since
2011.
During
which,
she
has
worked
on
over
40
films,
music
videos
and
commercials.
She
has
worked
on
a
variety
of
projects
including
music
video
for
Emmy
the
Great,
Young
Rebel
Set
and
Dear
Reader
and
has
recently
Art
Directed
TV
Docudrama
'Miracle
Landing
on
the
Hudson'
which
was
aired
on
National
Geographic
Channel
in
2013.

MARK SEYFRITZ – Composer
With
a
highly
eclectic
and
multiple
award
wining
career
as
a
composer,
producer
and
programmer
in
the
music
industry,
Mark
started
scoring
and
sound
designing
for
films
in
2005.
He
has
scored
several
features
recently
including
‘Dark
Tide’
(Halle
Berry
/
Olivier
Martinez),
‘Dead
Man
Running’
(50Cent
/
Brenda
Blethyn),
‘Devil
you
Know’
(Jennifer
Lawrence
/
Rosamund
Pike
/
Lena
Olin)
and
‘Jonah’,
that
has
just
been
nominated
for
”
Best
British
Short
”
at
the
BIFA’s
2013,
and
at
Sundance
for
“Best
Short
film
Grand
Jury
Prize”.

SYUKRI JR – Executive Producer
Syukri
is
an
independent
producer
and
founder
of
CANDAS
CREATIVE
COMPANY.
Being
a
collaborative-­‐
driven
creative
company
and
film
foundation,
this
startup
seeks
to
champion
and
celebrate
cinematic
arts
through
spectacular
storytelling,
in
addition
to
developing
and
producing
shorts,
features
and
documentary
films;
such
as
ACT
ONE:
A
Documentary,
Crossing
West,
On
The
Bridge,
and
Siren.
CANDAS
CREATIVE
COMPANY
in
its
first
year
has
supported
over
8
projects
from
around
the
world.
Syukri
additionally
serves
as
Principal
Partner
of
CUNGKEEL
PICTURES,
a
private
film
financing
and
investment
firm.

PRODUCTION INFORMATION
TITLE
He Took His Skin Off For Me
GENRE
Short, Drama, Magical-Realism, Horror
DATE OF COMPLETION
February 2014
COUNTRY OF PRODUCTION
United Kingdom
ASPECT RATIO
2.35:1
RUNNING TIME
11 minutes (11:22)
LANGUAGE
English
SHOOTING FORMAT
HD, Arri Alexa
SCREENING FORMATS
DCP, Blu-ray, HDCAM, DVD, QuickTime Pro-res 422